A Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»time travelogue brought to you by .
Mark Twain was as successful as any American writer could hope to be, but by the 1890s he found himself $80,000 in debt from a publishing company he invested in that didn't survive the economic depression. To pay off his creditors, Twain went on a lecture tour of the world that included a stop at the on Granville Street. He arrived in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»117 years ago today.
The stress of being so deeply in debt took its toll on Twain's health, and he spent part of his time in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»laid up at the . The tour, was helping his physical as well as financial recovery:
Lecturing is gymnastics, chest-expander, medicine, mind healer, blues-destroyer, all in one. I am twice as well as I was when I started out -- I have gained nine pounds in twenty eight days and expect to weigh 600 before January. I haven't had a blue day in all twenty-eight. My wife and daughter are accumulating health and strength and flesh nearly as fast as I am. When we reach home a year hence I think we can exhibit as freaks.
From his hotel bed, Twain local newspapermen (pictured) with stories and his opinions on many subjects. In this photo, he's holding a candle and explaining that he rejoiced when  were introduced, but he still travels with a candle because many hotels shut the lights off at night. Major Pond, Twain's manager, abruptly ended the interview because otherwise, he said, Twain would talk all day.
Source: Photo by Major JB Pond, via City of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Archives #Port P329
